Quote:
Originally Posted by ricardodw
There is a problem in putting Neal on the 3rd line. He has never had less than 17 minute/game in his career. His production will fall off if his ice time is reduced. He is not getting paid 5.75 in his first year ( expected best year) of his 5 year deal to put up 25-35 pts.
Neal is also accustomed to playing with top-6 line mates.
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This concern is significantly over-stated IMO.
Last year Neal had 14:42 of even strength ice-time, and 2:27 of PP time. He is still going to get his PP time regardless of which line he is on. And that is where a good chunk of the production comes from. If he is on the 1st PP unit, he isn't going to drop to 25-35 points, no matter which line he plays on.
As for even strength time, he is 31. Cutting him from 14:42 to a little under 14 is probably a good thing for him. And on the 3rd line, he would probably get a strong helping of offensive zone starts. So a little less total time probably results in no less quality time. And it keeps him fresher throughout the year.